of the reading public have not the chance, nor the other third the
inclination, to read, we could have a real "Life," setting forth
briefly and vividly the man's inward and outward struggles, aims and
achievements, so as to make clear the meaning which his experience has
for his fellows. A few such lives (chiefly, indeed, autobiographies)
the world possesses, and they have, perhaps, been more influential on
the formation of character than any other kind of reading. But the
conditions required for the perfection of life writing,--personal
intimacy, a loving and poetic nature which sees the beauty and the
depth of familiar things, and the artistic power which seizes
characteristic points and renders them with life-like effect,--are
seldom found in combination. _The Life of Sterling_ is an instance of
this rare conjunction. Its comparatively tame scenes and incidents
gather picturesqueness and interest under the rich lights of Carlyle's
mind. We are told neither too little nor too much; the facts noted, the
letters selected, are all such as serve to give the liveliest
conception of what Sterling was and what he did; and though the book
speaks much of other persons, this collateral matter is all a kind of
scene-painting, and is accessory to the main purpose.

The earliest of the regular articles, and the only one printed while she
was the associate editor of the _Review_, is on "The Lady Novelists." It
appeared in the number for July, 1852, and contained a striking discussion
of woman's place in literature, a defence of woman's right to occupy that
field she can best cultivate, with a clear and just criticism of several of
the most prominent among lady novelists. She was quite full in her
treatment of Jane Austen and George Sand, praising as well as criticising
with insight and fine discrimination. At the outset she defines literature
as an expression of the emotions, and gives a remarkably clear and original
description of its functions.